According to the French administrative division, the overseas regions of France consist of four regions, six collectivities, one territorial collectivity and one territory. The four overseas regions of France”Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, and Reunion”have departmental status, as do regions in Metropolitan France, and are generally represented with dual status of region and department. These four overseas departments are further subdivided into twelve arrondissements and these twelve arrondissements are classified into 153 cantons and these cantons finally divided into 112 communes.

Guadeloupe is located in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea and is divided into two arrondissements: Basse-Terre and Pointe-a-Pitre. Basse-Terre has seventeen cantons and eighteen communes while Pointe-a-Pitre has twenty three cantons and fourteen communes. Martinique, another overseas region of France located in the eastern Caribbean, is divided into four arrondissements: Saint-Pierre, Fort-de-France, Le Marin and La Trinite. These are subdivided into five, sixteen, thirteen and eleven cantons, respectively. French Guiana is located near the northern part of Latin America and is subdivided into two arrondissements and nineteen cantons. Reunion is located in the Indian Ocean and is divided into two arrondissements and twenty four cantons and communes.

The following six collectivities are part of the overseas regions of France: Mayotte, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-Miquelon, French Polynesia and Wallis-Futuna.

The Mayotte collectivity has seventeen communes and nineteen cantons. Saint-Pierre- Miquelon is designated as a territorial collectivity, and so has only two communes. French Polynesia is maintained as an overseas collectivity with five subdivisions, which are further divided into 48 communes. The collectivities of Wallis and Futuna are the only overseas regions of France that are ruled by their individual kings. This collectivity is divided into three districts, each with its own ruler who controls the district and is acknowledged by the Republic of France. Out of all these collectivities of the overseas regions of France, only Wallis-Futuna, Saint-Barthelemy and Saint-Martin have settled permanent residents.

New Caledonia, which is regarded as one of the collectivities, still does not have an official status designated to it. It is one of the distinct overseas regions of France, and is divided into three provinces which are subdivided into thirty-three communes. Apart from all these locations, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands are also part of the overseas regions of France. These regions comprise five districts, which include four islands and a territory related to the Antarctic coast. These fives districts of this overseas region of France are: i) Kerguelen Islands, ii) Scattered Islands, iii) Amsterdam Island and Saint Paul Island, iv) Crozet Islands and v) Adelie Land.